Vending-machine.



T. W. PETERSEN.

VENDING MACHINE.

1,219,768. APPHCAT'ON Fm Patented Ma1i20,1917.

H'IHIHIH II SPECIAL FIVE FIVE 1 0m: ENT DELIVERY TWQ ENT ONE can-r TWOCENT sr Ps STAMPS STAMPS s Naps V T. W. PETERSEN.

VENDING MACHINE.

ABPLICATlON FILED AUG. 11. 1915.

1.21 9,768. Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

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VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.H. I915.

1,21 9,768. Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

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VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.1I. |915.

Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

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T. W. PETERSEN.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.I1.1915.

1,21 9,768. Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

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VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.1I.I915.

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THOR W. PETERSEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,TO J'. LUTHER PEACOCK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VENDIN G-MACI-IIN E.

Specification of Letters Patent. 7

Application filed August 11, 1915. Serial No. 44,923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Tnor. 1V. PETERSEN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vending-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in vending machines especially adapted for vending postage stamps, and has for its object the provision of an improved machine of thischaracter which is of simple construction and reliable in operation. I

The invention consists in the combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which,

Figure l is a face view of a machine embodying my invention,

Fig. 2, a side elevation of the same,

,Fig. 3, a section taken on line 33 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4, a perspective view of one of the envelops in which the stamps to be sold are inclosed,

Fig. 5, an enlarged partial face view of the machine with the front plate thereof re moved and showing the coin chutes employed in the machine,

Fig. 6, a top plan view of the machine with the cover removed,

Fig. 7, longitudinal vertical section of the machine,

Fig. 8, a transverse section of the ma chine,

'Fig. 9, another transverse section of the machine,

Fig. 9 a detail view illustrating parts shown in Fig. 9,

Fig. 10, a detail view of a bracket employed in the construction, and

Fig. 10, a bottom plan view of the machine. I

The preferred form of construction, as illustrated in the drawings, comprises a suitable casing 11 detachably mounted on a hollow base 12 having a removable money drawer 13 therein. Vertical partitions 141 are arranged in casing 11 dividing said casing into a plurality of envelop containing compartments or hoppers 15,16, 17 and 18, the hoppers 15, and 16 being arranged in a cooperating pair with a space 19 between them, and the hoppers 17 and 18 being arranged in a cooperating pair with a space 20 between them, the hoppers 15 and 16 being designed for dispensing a nickel or five cents worth of stamps, and the hoppers 17 and 18being designed for cents worth of stamps.

Slide rods 21, 22, 23 and 2 1 are arranged centrally under the hoppers 15, 16, 17 and 18 respectively, said rods being slidable through the front wall of casing 11 and through a depending flange 25 formed on the bottom plate 26 of casing 11, each of said slide rods being provided with an operating handle 27 at the front of the machine. Each of the slide rods carries an upwardly and forwardly extending feed member 28 secured to the rear of the rod and having an up wardly offset portion 29 located at its forward end. Each of the feeding members 28-29 operates through a corresponding opening 30 formed in the front of casing 11 and a depressible spring guard 31 is pro vided for each of the openings 30 and arranged to be depressed by forward movement of the corresponding feed member 28 to permit passage of the same but preventing insertion ofa wire or other tool through the opening 30. A vertically adjustable feed plate 32 constitutes the lower forward portion of each of the hoppers, said feed plate carrying the corresponding partitions l4 and being vertically adjustable to adjust the same nicely to permit of envelops containing the stamps to pass thereunder.

The stamps are inserted in envelops 33 having depending flaps 34 at their forward edges adapted to be engaged by off-set portion 29 of the corresponding feed members 28 to feed the envelops outwardly through the corresponding openings 30. The envelops are filled with stamps of the proper denomination and are arranged in piles in the diflerent stamp hoppers with the flaps 3% arranged on their under forward sides, and a suitable weight is placed on each pile to press the same downwardly. The arrangement is such that upon forward movement of any of the handles 27, the corresponding feed member 28-29 engages under the flap 34 of the lowermost envelop in the corredispensing ten sponding stamp hopper and projects said envelop oi'itwardly through the correspond ing opening to permit of its removal, the corresponding feed plate 32 preventing dis: turbance of the uppermost envelops, as will be readily understood.

Each of the slide rods 21, 22, 23 and El carries a bracket 35, the brackets on the rods 21 and 22 projecting toward each other and lying immediately adjacent, while the brackets on rods and 24-. similarly pro ject toward each other. Each of the brackets 35 is provided with a guide slot Elli running on a headed stud 237. itlach of the adjacent brackets is provided with a semi-circular notch 38 registering with a corresponding notch in the adjacent bracket 35 and a pivoted finger 39 is provided with a cylindrical stud l0 operating in said notches, the arrangement being such that upon movement of either of the adjacent brackets 35, the pin lO will be shifted over into the other notch, but simultaneous movements of adjacent brackets are prevented owing to the fact that the stud 4:0 must lie wholly in one of the notches 38 before the other bracket can be moved.

Each of the brackets is normally held in retracted position by n'ieans of a spring d1 connected at its forward end to a lug 493 on the bottom of said bracket and to a corresponding lug l3 dependingfrom bottom plate 26, as best indicated in iliglO. lflach of the brackets is also provided with a depending ratchet bar *l-il. cooperating with a pivoted double-acting pawl controlled by a spring l6, the arrangement being such that the pawl L5 will permit movement of the corresponding bracket in either direction, but such movement having been started, it'must be continued until the pawl runs off of the opposite end of the ratchet bar, this arrangement thus compelling complete movements of the brackets 35 after such movements have once been started. iiy this means, the contii'iued suceessiie operations of the brackets and slides is prevented upon insertion of a single coin, since provision is made, as will be more fully described hereii'iafter, whereby complete forward movement of one of the brackets releases'and discharges the coin which renders such movement possible so that repetition is impossible Mounted on each of the ln'ackets 35 is a cam member l7 ha ring a notch l8 therein cooperating with a lug 4:9 on a vertically swinging arm pivoted in the casing at 51, as best shown in l i s. 8 and 9. Each of the arms 5-1) carries a forwardly extending stud 52 proxdded with a lug 53 projecting through a suitable opening into a coin space 54L formed between the front wall of casing 11 and the front plate as indicated. Suitable ribs or guides 56 and These coin chutes 58 are arranged in pairs,

one pair cooperating with the two nickel slots, and the other pair cooperating with the two dime coin slots, but each serving to direct a coin deposited therein to a position in which it will be supported by the corre sponding lug Fig. 5 illustrates in dotted lines the position of a nickel G0 deposited in one of the coin chutes and brought to rest by the corresponding lug 53. In this position, the suspended nickel rests immediately in front of the corresponding stud 52, so that upon forward movement of the corresponding handle member 27, the corresponding lug L9 is prevented from dropping into the corresponding notch 4-8, thus permitting of withd awal of the handle member. W ere the nickel not present, the arm '50 would be free to rock downwardly so that lug as) would drop into engagement with notch t8 and prevent such movement. Thus, it will be observed that upon the deposit of a snit able coin in any of the coin slots, the corresponding handle 27 may be manipulated to cause delivery of an envelop from the corresponding envelop hopper through the corresponding opening 30. The rear portion of each of the cams i7 is arranged on a slight up\ and incline, as shown, so that continued forward movement of the corresponding bracket will cause engagement with the corresponding lug l-Q'to swing the corresponding arm 50 upwardly toward the end of such movement and thus release and dis charge a coin suspended by the corresponding lug 53.

Each of the brackets 35 also carries a cam member 61 cooperating with a cammember (32 formed on the under side of a corre sponding arm 68 pivotally mounted in the casing at 63. spending with the two hoppers containing a nic :els worth of stamps is provided with an upwardly and a forwardly projecting finger 6d pivoted thereto at 65 and provided with a stop 66 engaging against the forward edge thereof, to permit swinging of the finger G l in one direction only. A spring 67 is connected at its forward end to the lower portion of finger 64 and at its rearward end to an arm 68 formed on the arm 50, said spring 67 normally holding finger 64 to move in unison with arm 50 but permitting of yielding of said finger in case of necessity. The upper forward end of finger 64 is arranged to operate through an opening 69 into coin space 54:. The arrangement is such that upon forward movement of either of the handles corresponding to the nickel hoppers, the corresponding finger 6st will be rocked out into the corresponding Each of the arms 63 correcoin space and intercept a coin such as coin 60 to prevent the same from being discharged from the coin chute simultaneously with the coin resting upon lug 53.

A coin thus discharged will descend until intercepted by a pin 70 projecting through an opening 71 and carried by a rocker plate 72 having an inwardly extending arm 73 provided with a cam member 741: adapted to engage with a cam surface 75 on the forward lower portion of the corresponding cam member 47 adjacent the end of the forward stroke of the corresponding bracket 35, thus depressing the arm 73 and throwing the corresponding pin 70 into the path of such a coin and holding the same there until the withdrawal of the corresponding bracket 35. Upon withdrawal of the corresponding bracket 35, the corresponding rocker plate 72 is returned to normal position through the-influence of a spring 76 and a corresponding pin 77, projecting through a corresponding opening 78, is simultaneously rocked to intercepting position to intercept a coin thus released by the retraction of the corresponding pin 7 O. A glass sight plate 79 is arranged in the front plate 55 opposite the positions of pins and 77, so that a coin intercepted by pin 77 will be visible from the exterior thus tending to prevent dishonest use of the machine. By this arrangement, it will be observed that upon operation of either of the nickel slides, the corresponding nickel will be deposited on the corresponding pin 77 in plain view. Should a penny or token smaller than a nickel be deposited, the arrangement of the parts is such that it will immediately pass lug 53 and rest upon the top of the nickel suspended by pin 77 whereupon the next operation will disclose the same, should further pennies or small tokens be deposited they would strike the penny arrested and roll laterally and descend into the money drawer 13. i

The mechanism for dispensing a dimes worth of stamps is substantially the same as that for dispensing a nickels worth, except that special provision is made to insure the discharge of a dime from its initial position. I have found from experience that in case a dime is slightly sticky, it being much lighter than a nickel, is likely to stick in the coin chute and thus impair the reliability of the machine. To prevent this, I remove the finger 64 from the corresponding arm 63 and substitute therefor an arm 80 provided with a stop pin 81 and held by a spring 82, as indicated in Figs. 6 and 8. To the inner end of each of the arms 80, I pivot a finger 83 at 84 in position to project outwardly through opening 85 in the front of casing 11. Each of the fingers 83 is provided with a depending arm 86 carrying an adjustable set screw 87 on which is mounted a combined lock and stop nut 88 adapted to contact with the upper side of the corresponding arm 68. By this arrangement, upon initial movement of the corresponding handle 27, the finger 83 will be thrown outwardly sufficiently to intercept a coin by the action of arm 63. Then, at the end of the movement of the corresponding cam 47, the corresponding arm 50 is operated to give the correspondingfin er 83 an additional movement which will efiectually discharge a dime thus suspended. The other parts of the mechanism for dispensing a dime or ten cents worth of stamps is identical with that for dispensing a nickel or five cents worth, and needs no further description, the same reference numerals having been applied to the same parts in each instance.

The machine disclosed will be found to -be a simple and efficient one for the purpose which is reliable and durable in use.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A vending machine comprising a casing provided with a coin chute; a reciprocatory slide arranged to discharge articles from said casing; a cam member operatively connected with said slide; a locking dog arranged to engage said member after initial movement thereof to prevent discharging operation, said dog being arranged to traverse said coin chute in effecting such movement, said cam being arranged to reversely move said dog; and a stop in said chute arranged to arrest a coin in position to prevent engaging movement of said dog, substantially as described.

2. A vending machine comprising a casing provided with a coin chute; a reciprocatory slide arranged to discharge articles from said casing; a cam member opera tively connected with said slide; a locking dog arranged to engage said member after initial movement thereof to prevent discharging operation, said dog being arranged to traverse said coin chute in effecting such movement, and said cam being arranged to reversely move said dog; and a stop on said dog projecting into said chute, substantially as described.

3. A vending machine comprising a casing provided with a coin chute; a reciprocatory slide arranged to discharge articles from said casing; a notched cam member operatively connected with said slide; a

locking dog arranged to engage said member after initial movement thereof to prevent discharging operation, said dog being arranged to traverse said coin chute in effecting such movement, and said cam being arranged to reversely move said dog; and a stop on said dog projecting into said chute arranged to engage a coin to prevent engaging movement of said dog, substantially as described.

i. A vending machine comprising a casing provided with a coin chute; a reciprocatoryslide arranged to discharge articles from said casing; a notched cam member operatively connected with said slide; a locking dog arranged to engage the notch said member after initial movement thereof to prevent discharging operation, said dog being arranged to traverse said coin chute in effecting such movement, and said cam being arranged to reversely move said dog; and a stop in said chute arranged to arrest a coin in position to prevent engaging movement of said dog, substantially as described.

5. A vending machine comprising a casing provided with a coin chute; a reciprocatory slide ar'anged to discharge articles from said casing; a notched cam member operatively connected with said slide; a locking dog arranged to engage the notch in said member after initial movement thereof to prevent discharging operation, said dog being arranged to traverse said coin chute in effecting such movement, and said cam being arranged to reversely move said dog; a stop in said chute arranged to arrest a coin in position to prevent engaging movement of said dog; and means operable by said reciprocatory slide for discharging an arrested coin, substantially as described.

6. A vending machine comprising a casing provided with a coin chute; a reciprocatory slide arranged to discharge articles from said casing; a notched cam member operatively connected with said slide; a locking dog arranged to engage the notch in said member after initial movement thereof to prevent discharging operation, said dog being arranged to traverse said coin chute in effecting such movement, and said cam being arranged to reversely move said dog; a stop in said chute arranged to arrest a coin in position to prevent engaging movement of said dog; means operable by said reciprocatery slide for discharging an arrested coin; and means compelling com plate movement of said reciprocatory slide in each direction before permitting return movement thereof, substantially as described.

7. A vending machine comprising a casing; a pair of vending hoppers arranged in said casing; a spring held reciprocatory slide arranged under each hopper; a delivery member secured to each slide and operating across the bottom of the corresponding hopper, there being a discharge opening corresponding to each delivery me nber; eoiiperating brackets carried by said slides and traveling adjacent each other, there being registering notches in said brackets; a pivoted finger having a stud operating in said notches to prevent simultaneous movements of said brackets; a ratchet bar carried by each slide; a double acting spring pawl cooperating with each ratchet bar to compel complete movement of each slide in each direction before return; and coin controlled means for preventing or permitting operation of said slides, substantially asdescribed.

8. A vending inachin comprising a easing; a pair of vending hoppersarranged in said casing; a spring held reciprocatory slide arranged under each hopper; a delivery member secured to each slide and operating across the bottom of the corresponding hopper, there being a discharge opening corresponding to each delivery member; cooperating brackets carried by said slides and traveling adjacent each other, there being registering notches in said brackets; a pivoted finger having a stud operating in said notches to prevent simultaneous movements of said brackets; a ratchet bar carried by each slide; a doubleacting spring pawl cooperating with each ratchet bar to compel complete movement of each slide in each direction before return; a notched cam on each bracket; spring-held dog riding on each cam; a stop lug on each dog, there being a coin chute in said casing traversed by each lug; and means in each chute cooperating with said lug for temporarily holding a coin in position to prevent operation of said dog, said cam being arranged to operate said dog to release said coin, substantially as described.

9. A vending machine comprising a casing; a pair of vending hoppers arranged in said casing; a spring-held reciprocatory slide arranged under each hopper; a delivery member secured to each slide and operating across the bottom of the corresponding hopper, there being a discharge opening corresponding to each delivery member; cooperating brackets carried by said slides and t 'aveling adjacent each other, there being registering notches in said brackets; a pivoted finger having a stud operating in said notches to prevent simultaneous movements of said brackets; a ratchet bar carried by each slide; a doubleaeting spring pawl cooperating with each ratchet bar to compel complete movement of each slide in each direction before return; a notched cam on each bracket; a spring-held dog riding on each cam; a stop lug on each dog, there being a coin chute in said casing traversed by each lug; means in each chute cooperating with said lug for temporarily holding a coin in position to prevent operation of said dog, said cam being arranged to operate said dog to release said coin; a second cam on each bracket; and a spring-held finger operable by said second cam to stop passage of coins through the corresponding chute, substantially as 10 described.

In test mony whereof I have slgned my name to this specification in the presence of JOSHUA R. H. Poms, CORA F. SCI-IIEBER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

